McDonald's is Lovin' it Worldwide

Oak Brook, Ill. -- From September through December, McDonald's planted its "I'm lovin' it" slogan all over TV, radio and its 30,000 restaurants in 100 countries around the world. It was the first time the fast-food restaurant launched a concurrent, global brand campaign in all of its restaurants -- all anchored by those three words.To help convey the message, McDonald's served a core set of restaurant merchandising materials that feature not the food but people enjoying it, designed to "connect customers in culturally significant ways and express McDonald's worldwide appeal to consumers of all ages," says Daniel Williams, national merchandising director for McDonald's USA.He adds that the U.S. set the tone of what the P-O-P should look like. McDonald's restaurants in other countries were responsible for producing their own variations of the P-O-P, but the styles and methods were led by the U.S. approach. Williams says McDonald's decided on a cohesive, worldwide campaign -- which also featured pop superstar Justin Timberlake in a single set of advertisements -- because "we felt it was time for McDonald's restaurants to come together on all shores to share a common brand message." He says the "I'm lovin' it" message crosses all boundaries of age and ethnicity, communicating to all consumers "how we see their lives and how they use our restaurant and food."The retail component played a significant role in bringing the "I'm lovin' it" message to life on a global scale, says Williams. "Where traditional but fragmented advertising media like the Internet, print and television fail to reach customers, these P-O-P elements extend the message to all the various types of consumers walking through our doors and complete the communication process." The P-O-P consisted of a multi-dimensional kiosk, ceiling danglers, posters and pole signs because, Williams says, they provided more capacity than other P-O-P. The 3-tiered kiosk offered a revolving, 360-degree message while inviting hands-on interaction and a close-up review of the fun and humorous messages. The other retail elements of the campaign added a "certain level of energy" into the store environment without interrupting other retail communications such as menu boards, toy promotions and other messages, says Williams. "I'm lovin' it" was a concept produced by German agency Heye & Partner, Unterhaching, Germany, as the result of a worldwide idea competition among McDonald's top international agencies. Frankel, Chicago, designed retail communications for the U.S. audience. Printing of the 30,000 kiosks and danglers for the U.S. was handled by Kubin-Nicholson of Milwaukee, while the mounting and finishing of all P-O-P materials was done by Rapid Displays of Chicago and Union City, Calif. The "I'm lovin' it" campaign established a flexible and creative brand framework on which future McDonald's retail communications will evolve, says Williams. The campaign's creative style will carry through to subsequent promotions, which may not use the "I'm lovin' it" message, but likely will feature visuals centered on people interacting in their daily lives and how McDonald's has become a part of those lives.Williams says that in building a new brand campaign, it takes time for awareness to take root in customers' minds. "We are off to a great start on a brand promotion that invests in good, strong retail components that complete the circle of communications," he says, adding that it would be shortsighted of the company to expect this initial program to drive sales. The campaign, he says, is a long-term investment in a brand, not a short-term expense like one that creates excitement around a product or price, for example."Going forward," Williams adds, "every promotion will be seated in a brand message as we look to extend the McDonald's brand name to all our customers as part of a long-term strategy, with retail communications as a big part of that effort."

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